Camp For Soccer Coaches Begins Wednesday

Local soccer coaches will soon have a great opportunity to pick up some new skills from highly acclaimed Yavapai College coach Hugh Bell.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Bell will host a clinic designed to help coaches of all abilities learn the game as it is played on the collegiate level.

The campsite is expected to be on the Rumsey Park multipurpose field or at the high school.

Payson High School coach Roger Wholly is among those who will welcome Bell to Payson.

"He'll have some great plays and great strategies for all the coaches who attend," Wholly said.

The fee for the clinic is $20. Call Wholly at 474-8785 for more information or to register for the clinic.

Bell also hosts the Longhorn Soccer Camp that began Monday morning at Rumsey Park. Sessions are 9 a.m. 4 p.m. until Thursday.

Last gasp sign-up

The Payson Youth Football Association will host its final registration from 8 to 10:30 a.m., July 27, on the north multipurpose field at Rumsey park.

The signup fee for players is $70. For cheerleaders, it is $60. However, a late registration fee of $10 will be charged. Participants must bring a birth certificate and proof of physical exam to the registration.

At 11 a.m. also July 27, the association's annual draft of players to teams will be held.

Practices begin at 5 p.m. July 29 also on the north multipurpose field.

Season ends Sunday

The Payson Parks and Recreation Swim team wraps up the summer campaign July 28 at Taylor Pool against Kingman.

The meet begins at 8 a.m. and will continue until about noon.

Youngsters, ages 5- to 18-years-old, will compete in age/sex divisions in the four basic strokes freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. Relays are also held.

Spectators are welcome free of charge.

Lack of gray matter

This one comes from the "how stupid can you be" department.

My son, Gerry, a biology teacher at Tempe Desert Vista High School and a friend were excited to learn Tonto Forest reopened Friday morning. Both enjoy motorcycle rides over mountain trails.

While riding off the Control Road during the afternoon hours, the two spotted campsites where two campfires were burning.

Gerry and his friend told the campers no fires were allowed but were ignored.

During the remainder of the ride, the two never spotted law enforcement officials to report the fires. As usually happens, a cellphone didn't work probably because of the remote location.

We've had some rain in the Rim country but not enough to eliminate the fire danger.

Knowing the tinder-dry conditions of our forest, what type of persons would risk starting a campfire that could result in another inferno the size of the Rodeo-Chediski blaze?